Your thoughts and comments on my last post have made a huge difference, thank you. The last few days have been very upsetting and I'm afraid the news isn't good.

Kitty can't function by herself, she needs 24 hour professional care to help her through the day, and she's really not getting quality of life. With the care she's in no pain but without it, she wouldn't last. The vet has tried the medication that he hoped would jog the damaged nerves into action, and infact this kitty was in for nearly a week previously with the same hope, but it's not working. So today we have to make the humane decision. And it's heartbreaking. Poor Aran keeps asking after her, and thankfully the few photos we have help quieten his questions.

Many of you have shared stories of happy rescued kitties, and today I need to share a similar story too. We can't help this poor kitty any more but we need to be reminded that we've done what we can, and that we have helped others before, and we have Ramone to help with that.

He's a very tricky cat to photograph; these photos are old and not the best!

Back in the days when we lived in London, in the days when I'd just been medically retired from teaching, in a time before Aran when it was simply me, Tom and Minky and Spook, Tom was working locally as a caretaker in a council owned, tenant managed tower block. One of his responsibilities was to empty the bins everyday, which collected all the refuse from the rubbish chutes located on each floor. A mucky job, but hey, someone had to do it.

He noticed that there seemed to be an animal living in the bin room. Not rats, the evidence said otherwise, but he couldn't work out what. More importantly, he couldn't work out how, as the bin rooms were always locked. Unless something snuck in when he briefly opened the doors, the only way into the bin room is down the chutes.

He started putting food down daily, which was promptly scoffed when Tom was out of sight, and slowly he started to catch glimpses of the animal trapped in the bin room. It was a cat, a black and white cat. Over a period of a week or so, Tom managed to gain this wee kitty's confidence to the point that it would come gingerly come out to greet Tom. And when the time was right, he took in one of our cat carriers and caught the wee kitty and bought him home.

The cat that Tom bought home was nervous and needy and wouldn't leave my side. Unfortunately he was also a tom, an unneutered one at that, and his arrival didn't go down very well with our ladies. Minky did try to be friendly but Spook hissed and howled at any of us who went within spitting distance of this little fella. It was clear he couldn't stay with us.

I phoned all the rescue centres and vets within a 10 mile radius, but nothing. Tom asked around at work and tried to hunt down the owner, but again, nothing. This wee chap was about a year old and had no collar or chip. And was most saddening is that we knew he'd likely been chucked down the rubbish chute and had been living off the scraps in the bin room for at least 2 weeks. The poor thing was traumatised, and Spook's behaviour wasn't helping.

Sheila agreed to take him in, and he's still with her now. Now, he's a confident lad with something of a swagger about him. He's pretty friendly and there are signs in his personaility that hint at abuse when young, but mostly, he's doing alright. He's an independant fella, and I suppose it's possible that he wandered off and found his own way down that chute but that's unlikely, as those things have safety doors and latches. Either way, he's now a content and loved cat.

Update @8pm:We've spoken again to the vet this evening, and he's not prepared to put Kitty to sleep, at least not yet. We've said to him we're not able to take on the responsibility and that this kitty needs too much care, and really, it's not fair on her; it's no way for a cat to live. He understands and agrees but wants her to have a chance. But honestly, I don't think he's being fair on her - he said himself he doesn't think a charity would take her because her needs are too great.

He did say he would try to find the previous owner, and from this point of view I think I understand his reasoning - if kitty did escape, rather than being abandoned, the owner might be very upset to find out their kitty had been put to sleep without their knowing, I know I'd be beyond rage. But nobody really believes she wandered off by herself. And so tracking down the previous owner to give back the kitty might not be such a good idea...